5 Issues That Affect How You Should Price Your Book

Pricing Variables

There are five major variables that affect the price of your book. Here is a discussion of each to help you decide on a strategy.




Costs. There are two kinds of costs: preparation and production. Preparation costs include such processes as design, editing, and layout. You might pay them only once, but nonetheless, you need to recoup them.

Production costs refer to how much it costs to make copies. If you're publishing only an eBook, the cost per unit is almost zero. If you're printing your book, you'll incur hard costs such as paper, printing, binding, and shipping.




Economic conditions. How is the job market for your target customers? While your book's price is probably one or two Starbucks cappuccinos, economic conditions matter to people and influence their buying decisions.




Brand. How strong is your brand? How many people know about you? Simplifying the issue, here are the most common conditions:

* First-time author without an established base of readers. Implication: charge less.
* First-time author with an established base of fans and high visibility. Implication: charge more.
* Repeat author with a proven record and established base of readers. Implication: charge even more.




Competition. How much does the competition charge for books in your genre? You cannot charge the same price as well-established authors such as J. K. Rowling. You should look at authors who are at the same stage as you.




Goals. What are your goals for your book? Here are the most common:

* Maximize short-term (six months to a year) revenue. Implication: charge more.
* Maximize long-term (a year or more) revenue. Implication: charge less.
* Establish yourself as a sector expert. Implication: charge less.
* Build a base of readers for future works. Implication: charge less.
* Spread your ideas. Implication: charge less.




Pricing philosophy. What's your pricing philosophy? First, let's dismiss "I worked hard on this book, so it's worth lots of money." It doesn't matter how hard you work. What matters is what people are willing to pay. These are the common pricing philosophies:

* High price connotes high quality. Low price connotes low quality. Implication: charge more.
* High price connotes cluelessness. Low price connotes awareness. Implication: charge less.
* High price connotes greed. Low price connotes empathy. Implication: charge less.
* The relationship between price and quality is random. Implication: take your best shot and change the price if it's not working.






Guy Kawasaki has written 12 books, 10 of which were traditionally published. His newest book is APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur - How to Publish a Book, which helps people understand how and why to self-publish.

APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur - How to Publish a Book, by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch, is available as an eBook ($9.99) and in paperback ($24.99). Visit http://apethebook.com/